Southwest Airlines, the busiest carrier at Tampa International Airport, reported its first quarterly loss in more than 17 years after taking a $247 million special accounting charge on its fuel hedging program for the period ending Sept. 30. The Dallas-based airline said it achieved an operating profit for the 70th consecutive quarter, but the special charge resulted in a $120 million loss, or 22 cents a share, for the third quarter. ...more

October 16, 2008

Over the years, we have grown accustomed to government bailouts of financial companies. The odd thing about the current credit crunch, however, is that it isn't the U.S. government that is doing the bailing. ...more

January 1, 2008

The chief executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Tuesday warned that their ailing mortgage-finance companies will suffer further in 2008 because of a weakening housing market and rising home-loan defaults. ...more

December 12, 2007

For once, the chief executive of AirTran Airways had Southwest Airlines co-founder and chairman Herb Kelleher right where he wanted him. ...more

November 1, 2007

Chief Executive Officer Lee Scott told investors Wednesday that Wal-Mart Stores is focused on improving flagging sales at its existing U.S. stores, even as it cuts plans for new store openings in an increasingly saturated market. ...more

October 25, 2007